Hypothermia
by cmwilding
Summary: Set mid season seven. Morgan and Prentiss are on their way to interview a suspect when they are run off the road. What sort of trouble will they run into? The whole team is featured. Two-Shot.
1. Chapter 1

"Oh shut up, Morgan," Prentiss said with a laugh. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah?" He asked, taking his eyes off the road and glancing at her. "I think I know all about the ladies."

"Your charm does seem to have an effect on most women," she admitted. "But if your charm is so good why don't any of your girls stick around?"

As soon as she said the words she realized how harsh they sounded and wanted to take them back but before she could apologize she heard a round of shots being fired.

"Shit!" Morgan cried out pulling out his own gun.

He slammed on the brakes and hit a patch of ice, causing the SUV to go spinning. Morgan tried to gain control of the car before they went crashing into a tree.

"Morgan?" Emily asked when the car finally came to a stop. "Derek, are you alright?"

He checked himself over and looked back to her. "Yeah I'm good. You?"

"I'm fine but who the hell was that?"

Morgan shrugged and held his gun tighter. "I don't know but let's go find out."

She nodded, pulling out her gun and taking the lead. She saw footprints leading into the woods and picked up her pace. She was running fast and hard when she caught a glance of the man who had just tried to kill them.

"FBI!" She shouted. "Stop now and drop your weapon!"

The man did hesitate but then took off even faster through the snow-covered terrain. They ran until they reached a clearing. Prentiss only slowed down and came to a stop when she heard the telltale sound of cracking.

She stilled, knowing what was about to happen but having no way of stopping it. She attempted to take a gentle step forward but that's when it happened.

The ground collapsed underneath her and she could feel the icy water go through all of the layers she had put on that morning. Her head went under and all she could see was black. She struggled to find the surface and when she did there was a thick layer of ice keeping her from the air she desperately needed. She pounded on it, trying to break through or find an opening.

* * *

Morgan let his partner run ahead of him, making sure he had her back in case their unsub tried anything stupid. His gun was out and at the ready. They ran fast, trying to catch the guy who obviously wanted them dead.

He heard her yell at the son of a bitch to stop. He was just coming to the clearing when he saw the guy run off and Prentiss stop dead in her tracks.

"Hey, Prentiss," he called to her. You alright?" He started walking over to her when he heard the ice cracking.

His heart dropped when it became obvious that the solid ground he had thought Emily was standing on was actually a lake or a pond frozen over. He watched helplessly as the ice gave way underneath her and she went under.

"Emily!" He let out a strangled scream. He had no other choice but to start peeling off his clothing and try and go in after her. Before he had even started to undo his jacket zipper her head popped up out of the water.

"Stay over there!" She yelled to him.

Derek could only stand and watch as she pulled herself out and belly crawled her way over to him. He knew that she was right and if he stepped onto the ice they would likely both go through.

As she got closer he could see her shivering and how her now blue lips stood out against her pale, white skin.

"Prentiss," he called. "You do something like that again and I'll kill you myself."

"H-hey," she stuttered, "It wasn't like I wanted to take a d-dip in the freezing w-water!"

She had finally reached the edge and Derek went to hug her but she put her hands up.

"I'm s-soaked and we are in the m-middle of nowhere," she explained. "You'll just g-get all wet, too."

"Alright well then start stripping girl," he replied with a laugh as he shrugged off his jacket. "You'll get hyperthermia if you stay in those clothes."

"Morgan," she tried to argue. "You can't be s-serious."

"As serious as a heart attack. You'll take my coat and pants. I'm wearing layers anyway. You're really going to tell me you never wanted to see me in a thermal and a pair of long johns?"

She laughed and continued to try and argue but knew there was no point so she conceded and held out her hand for his jacket.

"We need to start a fire." She said as she pulled on the clothes Morgan had offered her. He had been turned around, trying to give her some privacy but turned back at her words. "There's no way we could make it b-back to the car, I have no idea which way it is or even how far."

"How do you expect to start a fire?" He asked. "We don't have anything to get wood with and even if we did it's probably frozen."

"Well we'll have to s-split the wood," she explained. "Don't worry I have a knife in my pocket. Do you have a lighter?"

"Uh," he replied, "check my pocket."

She searched through his coat pockets and smiled as she pulled out a small, purple lighter.

"Didn't think you smoked," she said, hiding her hands back into the sleeves of Morgan's jacket.

"I don't," he countered. "Mandy, this girl I've been seeing does. I swear that girl hides lighters everywhere."

"Well thank god for that."

Morgan nodded and watched his partner for a minute. She looked freezing and even with dry clothes on, he lips were blue and shivers wracked her body. She didn't seem to be stuttering at much and her teeth weren't chattering but she had to be cold. He moved over to her coat and searched through the pockets before he pulled out the knife she had mentioned.

"I'm going to go get some wood," he told her. "You stay here and clear a place. Try and make it close to the clearing so we're easily visible from the air."

At her nod he went on his search. He was worried, but he wasn't about to show her that. She would just brush him off or get all bitchy. He tried to get a couple of bigger pieces of wood but mostly got smaller sticks.

"Em?" He called out.

"Over here," she answered. He saw the she had cleared a spot, lined it with rocks, and even had small branches and twigs in the center.

"This was the best I could find." Derek said, arranging the wood. He used the knife to cut into the wood and banged on it with another piece until it split. He did this two more times before he figured he had enough viable wood. Hopefully they would be found soon, otherwise he'd have to go and find some more.

Emily tried to get the lighter to work but her hands were shaking too much. Her fingers were starting to turn blue and Derek could see her struggling.

"Here," he reached for the lighter. "Let me do it."

She gratefully handed the lighter over and it only took a few tries for him to get some of the smaller twigs lit. Emily bent down and softly blew on the fire until it started to catch.

"Okay Princess, come here." Derek said with a laugh, pulling her close to him. "Body heat is the best kind of heat you know."

Emily rolled her eyes but did sit back against his warm chest.

* * *

"They've been gone for at least three hours," Reid said. "And they aren't answering their phones. It's not like them."

"They probably just don't have service and are taking it slow because of all the ice. It's getting dark and the roads can't be good." Hotch said with a sigh. He glanced down at his watch and couldn't help but feel his stomach twist with the thought that his agents had run into trouble.

"We could at least have Garcia check and see where their car is and if its on the move or not," JJ suggested.

Hotch nodded, pulled out his cell, and walked into the other room. They all knew that Garcia wouldn't take the news of their missing friends very well. She tended to start freaking out before it was needed. Turning to the window outside and watching the sun go further down in the sky, JJ couldn't help but worry. She knew that Emily was aware of how the team worried and always made sure to check in when she was running late.

"The car is on the side of route 88. It could be that they crashed and are staying in the SUV to stay warm. I've already sent out the locals but let's follow. I'll drive one of the SUVs and Rossi will drive the other. Reid you're with me." Hotch said in his usual commanding voice.

Rossi was the first to react to Hotch's words and grabbed the car keys off of the table.

"Come on," he gestured toward JJ's coat. "Let's go."

JJ and Reid both followed the older men out of the precinct. JJ noticed that Reid wasn't stating any facts on accidents in the winter, like he usually would and he looked a little pale.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"I'll be fine once I see that they are okay for myself." Reid whispered back. He had taken Prentiss' "death" the hardest besides Morgan and she knew that he was picturing her funeral in his head.

"She's with Derek," she assured him. "She'll be fine."

Reid just nodded and walked toward the SUV that Hotch had already started. JJ tried to believe her own words as she climbed into the other car.

It was completely dark by the time they got to the accident site. The locals had already taped the area off with crime scene tape and put up lights. Hotch's heart sped up when he saw bullet holes in the said of the car.

"What happened?" Hotch barked. "Where are my agents?"

A police officer stepped up and answered, "Well, sir, they weren't here when we arrived. There was plenty of broken glass but it doesn't look like either of your agents were hit. There's no blood in the car."

Hotch nodded and went to inspect the car for himself. He noticed the others relax when the cop had assured him there was no blood on the scene. Hotch didn't though, it only made the knot in his stomach tighten. Whoever had shot at Morgan and Prentiss could have been trying to run them off the road. Different scenarios ran through his head, each worse than the last. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to clear his mind.

There was evidence inside the car that Morgan or Prentiss had shot back. Good, that meant that their unsub could easily be incapacitated. JJ peered over his shoulder, pointing her flashlight into the car.

"Anything stand out to you?" Hotch asked her.

"No," she replied, "but their cell phones are still here. That would be why they didn't call for back up. Where would they go?"

"They must have gone after the unsub. There's no other reason to leave the safety and warmth of the car." Reid's voice came from behind them.

"We should look for foot prints," Rossi suggested. "It hasn't snowed and the wind isn't terrible there's a good chance that any footprints we find could lead us right to them."

Hitch nodded. "You and Reid should head over to the house where Morgan and Prentiss were planning to interview the suspect. There's a good probability that he's our unsub."

They nodded and started back to the SUV.

"Bring back up!" Hotch called as he began looking around the car for any sign of which way his missing agents had gone.

Everyone stopped in their tracks when they heard a piercing scream in the distance.


	2. Chapter 2

Derek Morgan was cold. It wasn't the cold he was used to. He had grown up in Chicago and was accustomed to bundling up and wandering the cold streets, only getting fully warm again after a long, hot shower. But now, he was chilled to the bone, his hands and feet were numb and the wet spot on his shirt from Emily's hair was completely frozen.

The fire was starting to die down again and he knew he had to go and find more wood before it went completely out. Emily was currently dozing, leaning back against him and he hated to wake her up again just to tell her that they were still stuck in the middle of no where and it would be getting dark soon.

At first they had talked, mostly about their plans for the upcoming weekend and other small talk. Derek couldn't help but notice how she had stopped shivering a little while ago. He had her close her eyes and get some rest.

He knew that they wouldn't last too much longer. The sun was starting to set and the temperature would only plummet after dark. Emily was already in the later stage of hypothermia and wouldn't be able to handle the cold much longer.

He sighed and gently lifted Emily off of him and moved her closer to the small fire.

"I'll be right back," he whispered and couldn't shake the worry when she didn't stir.

He didn't go far, only a few yards into the woods and began to cut branches off of the trees as fast as he could. He headed back when he figured he had enough and panicked when he saw that Emily wasn't where he had left her.

"Em?" He called out. "Emily, where are you?"

"G-get away from me!" Came a voice from behind him. He whipped around to see Emily, holding a stick and looking ready to strike.

"Em," Derek said softly. "What are you doing? It's me, Derek."

"No, no, no." She practically whispered, holding the stick higher.

Derek took a small step closer, trying to get a better look at his friend. Her eyes were glassy and she wasn't really looking at him.

"It's okay, just put the branch down and come closer to the fire. You must be cold." He said, cautiously putting down the wood in his hands to make a point.

"Do y-you really think you c-can trick me like that, Ian? Get the h-hell away form m-me!"

Derek froze at her words. He reeled back as if she had physically stuck him. God, how out of it was she to believe that he was Doyle? He and been dead for months and Emily had assured him that the nightmares and self doubt from the whole fiasco was dying down.

"Princess," Derek tried. "It's me, Derek. It's Morgan, your partner."

If anything that only made things worse. She did drop the stick but she started to stumble backwards, with a scared look in her eyes. She tripped over a root and fell to the ground, never looking away from his face.

"I-I won't let you h-hurt him! You stay a-away from them! It's me you want." She stuttered. "Just t-take me instead."

Derek didn't know what to do, but he was aware that he had to at least get her closer to the fire. She was deteriorating fast, and she'd only get better if she got warmer. He added the wood he had gathered to the fire, keeping his eyes on his partner the entire time. She wasn't looking away form him either, still at the ready to bolt.

"I'm sorry about this, princess," he said moving closer. "But I'm not going to let you freeze to death."

He wasn't sure if she had heard him or not but he moved closer to her anyway. He grabbed her and pulled her closer to him and she let out a terrible scream. It wasn't any sound he wished to hear ever again. It hurt his ears, but it also hurt his chest.

"I know," he said, moving them closer to the fire. She was struggling against him before she went limp in his arms. "You'll be okay," he whispered into her hair, turning her towards the warmth of the flames.

* * *

At the sound of the scream, after the initial frozen shock, everyone started working overdrive.

"It sounded like it came from the northwest," Reid said, abandoning his original plan to check out the unsubs house. It was obvious all agents were needed here and the locals could go check out the house themselves.

"Alright," Hotch said, "I'm going to need an air view and a search party on the ground immediately."

The cop who had been helping out nodded and made his way to his men, talking into his walkie-talkie.

"Okay guys," he said, turning back to his team. "I'm going to call Garcia and update her. JJ, talk to the locals and get us some winter gear because we're heading out too."

Once everyone was ready to go, he broke his own team into two groups. JJ, Reid, and two locals went in one group and he and Rossi went with two other men in another group.

"We keep lines of communication open at all times," he said, looking his team in the eye. At everyone's nod they headed into the woods.

JJ had been walking for awhile and the sun had completely disappeared from the sky before she noticed the smoke.

"Hotch," she called over the mic, gesturing at Reid and the others she was with to the smoke . "I think I know where they are."

She gave Hotch their coordinates and took off in a run, only slightly behind Reid. The skidded to a stop when they reached a clearing and saw the brightness of the fire.

It wasn't a very large fire, but it was enough to grab their attention. She was looking over the scene when she spotted them.

"Derek! Emily!" She called running over to them. She heard Reid calling for backup and medics.

Emily was turned towards Derek's chest and they were both laying on the ground with their eyes closed.

"Hey guys,' she said, shaking them. "You guys have to get up now. Help is on the way."

Emily didn't move but Morgan blinked a few times before focusing on JJ's face.

"She needs medical attention, like now." He said, patting Emily on the shoulder.

"Okay," Reid said, coming to the other side of his friends. "Its going to be a few minutes though."

Reid shook off his jacket and laid it over his friends.

"Wait," JJ said, finally noticing why they had looked so strange. "What happened to Emily's clothes? Why is she wearing yours?"

"She fell though the ice," Derek informed them, looking down at his unconscious friend. "She's way worse off than I am, she was totally out of it before she just passed out."

"She's tough," JJ assured him. "She'll be okay."

Derek looked as if he was going to argue but was interrupted when voices came shouting from the distance.

"Over here!" Reid called out. "We're over here!"

The others had arrive, along with the medics. They gently picked Emily up off of Derek and wrapped her in warming blanket. As they took her from him, Derek could feel his chest tighten. He wanted to hold her hand to make sure that she didn't slip away from him. He knew he couldn't do that though.

"Stay with her," he said to JJ. "Don't let her think she's alone."

JJ nodded, squeezing his shoulder before turning to rejoin Emily. He closed his eyes, not letting himself think of the possibility that Emily wouldn't bounce right back from this.

* * *

When Derek started to regain consciousness, all he could focus on was a soft beeping noise. It took him and minute before he remembered what happened and he opened his eyes to look around his hospital room. He spotted Rossi dosing on a chair near his bed.

"Hey," Derek called to him.

"Hey, how are you?" Rossi asked, opening his own eyes.

"Warm," was Derek's simple answer. "How's Emily?"

Rossi sighed and Derek felt his heart drop to his stomach.

"Well, she's still unconscious," Dave told him. "But her heart rate and breathing has stabilized. It was a little hit or miss there for awhile."

Derek nodded, relaxing against the pillows. "I need to see her."

"You need rest," was the reply he got. "You can see her when your discharged."

"No," Derek replied. "You don't get it. She thought I was Doyle. She thought she was back in her worst nightmare. I need to be there when she wakes up."

"She what?" Rossi asked. "Oh, Derek."

"I know man. I need to go see her."

Rossi conceded, "Alright, let's see what your doctor has to say."

"Wait," Derek said, remembering the whole reason they got stuck out in the woods in the first place. "Did you guys ever find the guy who ran us off the road?"

"Yeah, it was the witness you guys were going to check out. One of your bullets hit the bastard and he bled out hiding in his house."

Derek couldn't bring himself to feel bad. "I guess that means I'll be filling out a bunch of paperwork when I get back."

"Most definitely, but I wouldn't worry about that right now. I'll go find your doctor."

* * *

When Emily started to come around, the first thing she noticed was't beeping noise of the machines in the room but the feeling of warmth that surrounded her. In fact, the more aware she became the hotter she felt. She let out a soft moan and pushed off some of the blankets covering her.

"Hey there, princess," a voice above her said with a chuckle.

She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Derek Morgan.

"Hey," she replied, sleepily.

"How you feeling?"

"Uh, alright," she replied. "What happened?"

Derek took his friend's hand, "You don't remember?"

Emily tried to think back to the last thing she was doing before she woke up. It started coming back to her, the shots fired at the car, the crash, falling through the ice, and finally the cold that seemed to have settled into her bones.

"No," she said, "I remember. Who found us?"

"JJ and Reid," he replied. "What's the last thing you can remember?"

"Um," she thought back, "I think we had started a fire. We talked for a bit then I think I fell asleep."

Derek nodded, "Yeah you did. After that though you woke up for a bit and you were, well, you were kind of out of it."

"Out of it how?"

Derek tightened his grip on her hand. "Em, you thought I was Doyle."

Emily didn't know how to respond. Thinking that her best friend was Doyle was absolutely ridiculous.

"Are you still having nightmares?"

Emily shook her head. She did still have the occasional bad dream, but they weren't nearly as bad as they had been when she had been away from the team. She also still slept with her gun next to her bed but she wasn't about to admit that.

"Em, come on," he urged. "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying. I did used to have a lot of trouble sleeping but it's gotten a lot better these past few months," she insisted. "It's really not that bad."

She knew that Derek didn't quite believe her but he wasn't going to push it, at least not right now.

"You know I'm here right?" He asked. "If you ever need anyone to talk to I don't want you holding it all in. Talk to me, I'm just a phone call away."

She smiled, "I know."

"Good," he said, dropping the issue. "Now I have to make a couple phone calls and let everyone know you're awake!"

It wasn't long before the whole team was crammed into her tiny hospital room. Everyone was happy to see she was awake. Emily let herself get lost in their happy chatter and when she met Derek's eye across the room she knew they would have to talk more later but for now, she was happy to just be surrounded by her family.


End file.
